Abstract

The modern period of interest in occupational diseases had its inception following the epoch-making publication of Ramazzini in 1700.1 In this comprehensive treatise were gathered the references of his predecessors on the subject of occupational disease. Ramazzini classified the diseases of nearly 100 different occupations in which hazards to health existed. The first essay on occupational diseases in the United States was written by McCready in 18352 and was recently published again.3 Garrison4 reviewed the literature on occupational diseases and spoke of "life as an occupational disease." In recent years there has been an increasing interest on the part of